^ 







OMEGA ET ALPHA 

BY 
GREVILLE D'ARVILLE- 



\ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



^UINURLOO. 

^P' CopjTigllt No..._ 

Shelf.A7_S(D5 



^^i 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



OMEGA ET ALPHA 

AND OTHER POEMS 



BY 



Greville d'Arville 



* 



D. p. ELDER AND MORGAN SHEPARD 
SAN FRANCISCO 

1899 



-iA 






COPYRIGHTED 1 899 

BY 
GREVILLE d'aRVILLE. 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 



•( rtuv b- \<^i 



\ 




SECOND COPY, 






RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

TO THOSE THAT READ, YEA, THOSE THAT WILL, 

AND MAY ITS PAGES LOVE INSTILL. 



TO MY CRITICS. 



I fain would ask of thee. 
As critics, true and brave. 
If I a poet be ; 
And not a rhyming knave ? 

For if I fail in rhyme. 
With mind intent on high. 
The lofty heights to climb ; 
Forgive me then — I die. 



OMEGA 

ET 
ALPHA. 



OMEGA. 



Ji "Sic Transit (Gloria MiiiKli." ^ 



r^I^RAPIIIC hliists — the trumpet sounds afar. 

Again it sounds and awe it struck with cliill ; 
An awful stillness swept the earth about ; 
'J'he mighty billows ceased their plunge and roar. 
And like a mirr(jred glass, silently lay 
The oceans, lulled beneath impending doom. 
'J'he sky with clouds fast gathered thick, 
'J'hen darker yet, in somberness, they grew. 
'J'lie joyous birds in midst their singing ceased, 
"^J'heir matins left unfinished, yet from fear 
And anguish they were free, for no distrust 
Of Him had ever filled their loyal breast ; 
They sang His praises — it their daily task — 
"^J'he beasts of prey jkjw docile stood and heard, 
Attentive lest a sound should 'scape their ear. 
'^J'iie rippling streams their babbling ceased and il(.twed 
On silently, expectant of the just 
Decree (intuitively learned of" Him). 
The lilies of the marsh seem glad and list. 



And flowers scattered o*er the universe 

Are wreathed in smiles of coming joy, tho' dark 

And frowning is the skv, thev see bevond 

Earth's Paradise — restored and tVesh as in 

Its former magnitude and heav'nlv prime. 

The murmur of the trees, the moaning pines 

Were hushed for want oi' zephyrs phiving thro'; 

The winds obeying shmk in peace away. 

And gathered for the Hnal tragedv. 

The briars and the brambles — tliat offend — 

With evil omen heard the piercing bhists. 

Since Sin its shadow cast upon the earth. 

Unequal thev beside the tiiirest flovv'r 

Had thrived, and from them health and vigor drew — 

Illicit, sapping lite — vitality. 

The muttering thunder, culminating — crash, — 

Vibrating swift — another breaks afresh. 

The lurid (lames of lightning zigzagged forth. 

From north to south, their strange allurement lent ; 

From east to west the earth is reeling now — 

To and fro, swinging like a pendulum. 

The finnv tribe, inhabitants beneath 

The deep cerulean seas, the surface seek, 

12 



With conscious sense of awe and honor due. 

Their quest for food and prey forgotten is ; 

From caverns fair, and caverns dark they come. 

Palatial homes of shell, deserted are. 

Resplendent in their iridescent hues. 

The mossy dells no roaming stranger lures. 

Another blast — the thunder rolls and crash — 

A Voice from Heaven sounds and all is still — 

The veil is rent and heaven opens as a scroll — 

And He, the Son, the Christ, the living God appears. 

His radiant face aglow with intense light ; 

Fair New Jerusalem, its dazzling walls. 

Its golden streets, before the world now lies. 

Arch-angel Gabriel, his voice of might 

The staid foundations of the earth does quake. 

From near, it sounds unto the distant far, 

From starry heights, unto the stretching deep — 

** Awake ye silent dead. Come forth to life." 

And lo, from out the bowels of the earth 

The Sabaoth of nations rose to sight : 

The nether parts of Hell, her victims, gave. 

From seas' unfathomed depths, unnumbered rise: 

The mighty and the great, the little — all ; — 

»3 



Death's ebon portals swing — unlocked — unbound. 
** Cease forever babbling tongues of hypocrisy ; 
Weep for what is lost — ye cannot share the gain." 
Great the sorrow, — they flee — they beg the mountains fall 
And cover up their sin, their nakedness and shame: 
They fear His Holy Look, they tremble — quail. 
Compassionate, He will not doom them pain ; 
Yet they had spurned His love, their thoughts were self. 
They gave no thought to those that hungered were. 
They cared not for the cold and houseless poor. 
His love for those in sin no hate contained. 
His kindness kills — repaid in coin unknown. 
No hell — in torment did he cast away. 
Those that were lost — had gone astray, their soul. 
Their anguished spirit dies because of His 
Pure holy eyes : Their sins in terror now 
Before them stand, their conscious guilt, the ban 
That dooms them unto earth — again — decay. 
The sea is sad and mourns the dead — it moans ; 
The sky o'er cast with dark and sombre clouds 
Hides light from day. The earth in travail groans. 
The Bride is safe — in Isaiah's Chamber housed — 
Till, purified and cleansed, the earth is made. 

H 



The just from ev'ry nation, great and small. 

Those that lived their faith — their conscience obeyed. 

The multiplex Faiths of Christendom stand 

Rewarded — justified by zeal and deed. 

Peace and grace to those that love Jehovah — God, 

And Christ, His Son — Redeemer of the race. 

Follov/ers of Mohammed — true to him — 

The precincts of the Koran kept in truth : 

The Buddhists, who thro' self inflicted woes, 

(Unasked penance) have gained their sought abode. 

Disciples of the tri-fold Bramin Creed, 

Re-incarnated — Him they knew, unknown — 

Staid Theurgists, their mystic shrine dissolved — 

In liberated vision — see but Him ; 

The barbarous savages, who worshiped Sol, 

The God of truth. His knowledge does ajudge. 

Their works, their faith, tho' simple. He rewards. 

Those ignorant — no God — no conscience have. 

No law transgressed, since law they had not had. 

He shares His Kingdom with, 'neath sunny skies. 

With turmoil — strife — forever put away. 

Those serving Mammon — dead are lying now. 

Their odorific, fetid deeds ascend, — 

15 



See now their nascent smoke is curling high- 
Lost to them — Paradise they cannot share. 
Those enlightened — knowing and doing not — 
Agonizing — full realization comes. 
With Hell — they both — precipitate and end. 



ALPHA. 



THE ALPHA. 



'' I ^HE clouds in islands break — disperse : the earth 
From out her long and purging curse appears. 
The smoke of the World's funereal pyre — 
The dark abyss — from darkness turns to mist ; 
The mist precipitating falls and Oh ! — 
Bleak and barren — the plain o'er cast with dearth. 
The mountains, with their sleek and lavaed sides 
No life contained — a cenotaph they stood. 
The calid deep its sibulating ceased. 
And cooling winds its ardor fanned to sleep. 



The earth in pregnancy, awaiting pains 

Of labor, till its womb inflated yields 

The offspring of a fairer land than was. 

The mountains swell, till like a mother's breasts 

They burst with milk to nurse her scion's health ; 

The rills break forth and trickle down the slopes. 

In merriment of joy to now escape ; 

They kiss the earth, in amorous love, till to 

Their soft embraces Earth but yields, and brings 

Her fruit a token of the union's worth. 

The dormant seed now breaks its fragile cell. 

And verdure clads the hill-land and the dale. 

Soft zephyrs breath their mystic power o'er 

And charm, to ope, the flowers shooting forth. 

A crystal stream, from northward, bends its sway. 

Transparent to its deep recessed below ; 

On either side of which grew tree-ferns, tall ; 

And palm trees, upright standing, ripe with fruit, 

Entrellesed round about the grape-vine grew. 

Rich hung in purple clusters, 'midst its green. 



Here peacocks spread their gorgeous eye-full tails 

And unmolested lie beneath the shade, 

While tigers leap and frolic in their play. 

The air was sweet with melody of birds. 

Who sang their tuneful songs of freedom clear. 

But see ! a light out dazzHng fills the air ; 

A brightness spreads its glory o'er the earth. — 

What music every where in joyous strain ! 

Ten thousand times ten thousand — yea and more, 

In choral grandeur, sing the praise of Him. 

Fair New Jerusalem descending comes 

And rests upon the earth's foundations new. 

Its walls of jasper entermixed with gems : 

The jacinth, chrysolyte and amethyst. 

The chalcedony and the emerald. 

Sardonyx, pinken hue, with topaz weld. 

The blue-green beryl and the sardius. 

The chysoprasus laid with sapphire blue. 

Each shade and color of the rainbow's hue. 

On golden hinges swing twelve massive pearls : 



21 



The north, the south, the east and west, each three ; 

As gates unto the City of our God. 

Within a Light of Holy Splendor shone. 

Reflecting, from the walls, prismatic gleams. 

Which, then rebounding, cast upon the streets 

Mosaics of empyric blend and hue. 

Enrobed in garments, snowy white, were those. 

That, purged from lust and sin, had been, by Him ; 

And thro' the gateways, in and out they pass. 

Around the throne of Him, who gave them life. 

They stood and homage pay, with songs of praise. 

While harpers harp their sweet majestic lays. 

The throne, a marvel — dream undreamt nor thought — 

Where sat Jehovah, — God, the Father of 

The righteous just, thro' Him upon His right. 

His smile of approbation resting on 

His Son, the King of Kings, the Great High Priest, 

Who took the yoke of man that all might live. 

Who conquered sin and burst the gates of Hell 

That myriads of dead might live again. 



22 



Moses, Daniel, Job, Ezekiel, Isaiah, 

Samuel, Elijah, Jacob, David, 

Abraham, Isaac, Jeremiah, John, 

The twelve apostles — all around the throne. 

And hosts of those that led in truth and light. 

Then Christ, descending, mingles with the throng — 

A brother and a succor, yea a friend. 

The angels, sing the song of love and triumph. 

In symphonic tongue ; musicians deftly. 

With ethereal touch accompanying — 

The city's walls vibrating sweet with tune : — 

All heaven — Earth resounding with its ring. 

From streets of buhl and aulic splendor of 

The Temple, they, that live without the gates. 

Their homeward journey went, some beside streams. 

Where trees o'er hang and shed their sweet delight. 

And swans o'er glide, the mirrored pool, unharmed. 

In regal majesty. The trees with fruits 

And blossoms are — to charm and satisfy. 

Some upon the sunlit mountain slopes dwelt. 



23 



Where cattle grazed or slept, when full, content : 
Where fig-trees spread their cooling leaves, and held 
Beneath its treasured gift, when ripe to fall. 
Where eye could reach, in peace and joy, they dwelt. 



24 



A REMEMBRANCE. 

^ To the only woman in history of whom these 
lines could be written. ^ 

A ' O ! bring ye flowers, rich and rare ! 

Bring only those — the white and fair ; 
The saintly iris — purity. 
And emblem of virginity : 
Close the shutters ! lest the light 
Cast a shadow of the night ; 
Toll the church bells — slow and long ; 
Hush the minstrels' merry song : 
Muffle soft the beating drums. 
Angels now — a legion comes. 
To gather up her scattered dust : 
To last — her valiant love and trust — 
Her Country — God ; to each was true. 
From childhood both in spirit grew. 
Each flame a saintly halo cast — 
Illumed her face as in the past ; 
She saw beyond this earthly sphere. 
And soft a sound — it reached her ear — 
A voice had called her, she had gone. 
And darkness spread the smiling dawn. 

25 



WHIP-PO-WIL 



HARK! a bird 
OiKuntly sings. 
Loud and shrill : 
<*Whip-po-\vil." 

In the field. 
Ere the dawn. 
Breaks the still — 
** Whip-po-\vil." 

Children shout 
"William" rout. 
With their taunt — 
*«Whip-poor-Will." 

Happy swains 
Wend their way. 
To the lay — 
*< Whip-po-wil." 



26 



Lowing kine. 
Fresh with wine. 
Know the sad — 
** Whip-po-wil." 

Twilight's gleam 
Lures him forth 
With his shrill 
'* Whip-po-wil." 

Darkness now 
Light enwraps : — 
Hush ! be still — 
** Whip-po-wil." 



27 



THE RESCUE. 



1^ OLLING billows — crash and splash- 
Against the rocky quay. 

Higher now in frenzy dash — 

And sweep with vengeful sway. 

Tossed and oarless, drifting on, 
A boat is seen to rise ; 

See ! a child is clinging — God ! 

Then gone to gazing eyes. 

** Launch the life-boat, quick, ye men ! 

A lad is drifting, say ! 
Stand ye idly gawking then ! — 

Heave ho, heave ho, away ! " 



28 



Riding billows, swept by gale. 

The men with steady stroke,- 

Daunted not they would not fail — 
Speed on ; — and God evoke. 

Rising, falling, closer now — 

They veer, the sea is mad. 

Closer yet — then prow to prow — 

They grasp and save the lad. 



29 



MUSIC, ITS POWER. 



'' I ^HE stone-front mansion was ablaze with light : 

Without 'twas gloomy — a dreary night ; 
Yet cab after cab, the pavement, rolled 
And stopped before 

This mansion's door. 
The ladies gowned in silk-stufFs were 
And, o'er their shoulders, capes of fur; 
An awning, from the landing, led 
Up to the doorway, arched o'er head. 
The merry ripple of laughter — Hark ! 
Now music's dulcet harmonies pervade the air, — 
A growl, a sniffle, the watch dogs bark — 
A man was standing, silent, in the shadow's lair. 



30 



His garments were tattered and torn. 

They were seedy and sheeny worn ; 

Yet he stood entranced, and why 

Did he heave a longing sigh ? 

The rain was falling — he was wet and cold. 

The wind was blowing, gusty, raw and bold. 

A strain of music, now and again, he hears. 

His bloated face brightens and tears. 

His eyes, made dim — his chord of love revives again 

The days of youth, smiling disdain. 

Each note his jealous ear imbibed — 

Now echoes 'woke — with phantoms strived. 

The street cars whizzing by, annoy — distract ; 

He closer leans toward the fence : — 

He grasps and floats, the tide is high 

It rises — falls — its billows die 

The ripples cease, the tideway backed. 

The gloom appalls, the night intense. 



THE WIND. 



TTT'ITH a whirl, she whizzing comes 

Bringing rain and bringing snows. 
With a rush she rustling goes. 
While the pine tree mournful hums. 

Comes the witch. 
On a switch. 
Thro' the air ; 
Or a-daft. 
On a shaft. 
From her lair ? 

But she goes and answers not 
Thro' the meadows, o'er the bluff. 
Chasing on with angry puff. 
Till expiring — she is not. 



32 



IN NATURE'S GARDEN. 



TJESTREWN the ground with «* butter-cups " 

Deep hid behind entwining vines 
Of jassmine, intermingling, sweet. 
Its breath of Eden with the pink : 
Where ferns frondesce, and shade from sun 
The dainty lilies of the vale. 
The columbine upshooting meets 
And piercing thro' protrudes to view. 
Azaleas, pink and yellow blend. 
In rich profusion, with the white. 
And butterflies, how oft they light ! 
To whisper of a mutual friend. 
Of love they whisper, good and true. 
And each the other loving greets ; 
When off he goes — a fickle male — 
To compliment a fairer one. 
And stops anon to honey drink. 
He lingers fondly — how discreet ! 
Till drunk, he reels, with Love's own wines — 

33 



From bud to bud — trom each he sups. 

A cowslip carpet farther on. 

In gold mosaics, lend their charm ; 

And rising high, a wall from view. 

The grape-vine swings upon the oak. 

Its em'rald clusts anon to full. 

With rare ambrosia — to tempt. 

And lucious ripe upon their stems 

Are berries kissed a blushing red. 

Awaiting but the picking off. 

And luring on — a nidor rare. 

The violet perfumes the air. 

And dandelions loving doff 

Their silken caps from off their heads. 

The dew-drops sparkle — see like gems ! 

On green, on red — a dream undreamt. 

And orrised marigolds do mull 

The air, with fir, and love evoke ; 

While pine trees shed, their sweet-meat strew. 

For squirrels, 'gainst a drouth alarm : 

And timid lies the spotted fawn. 



34 



A murmur of sweet melody. 
The ripple of the forest stream : 
And merging forth we spy its banks 
Its rock strewn course of stepping stones 
And tufts of rarest maiden-hair 
Are peeping from among the grass. 
Entranced we wander with the brook 
And drink of Nature's hidden treat. 
Now twisting thro' and on, past all, 
Becaught by rose thorns as we pass. 
As if to stay our onward path. 
Behold ! the gods' own palace hall, 
Encentered with a placid sheet — 
The sacred of the sacred — look ! 
Reflecting like a mirrored glass. 
The trees, the sky and clotted air 
Their color each in faithful tones — 
Above nor with no painting ranks, 
A mockery they are and seem — 
For nature, go and nature see. 



35 



The willows drooping shed their cool, 
Where fish are darting in the blue : 
And skimming close, the swallow flies. 
Then soaring high above it glides. 
The tom-tits hang fantastic nests, — 
Protection to its growing young, — 
On cross twigs of a lowly branch. 
Where ruddy -breasted linnets sing 
And carol while the blue-jays chirp j 
And humming birds inject their bills 
Into the honey suckle's frills. 
No foe encrouched, none dared usurp, 
'Twas free from lusty woodman's fling 
'Twas Nature's gift to earth enhance. 
Where echoes oft resounding rung 
And brought us back our play till jests. 
With reverence and careful strides. 
Lest tread we on blue ** baby-eyes," 
We homeward trod — alas, too true ! 
Like children going, first, to school. 



36 



THE AN riQUARIAN. 



T TK sits cnrapt in what he sees — 

Some past historic script he reads 
Which tells of former grandeur-- fame ; 
When young in years the earth was rich 
In splendor of barbaric kings. 
Their temples, gods and gorgeous shrines ; 
How wars were fought, where honor shines ; 
How for his Love a lover sings. 
Or where some sage an honored niche 
Had gained, in learning, for his name ; 
Of sacred rites and fabled creeds. 
Where all is lost in mysteries. 
About him lie the treasured bits 
Of tablets found entombed where once. 
In might, a city's walls arose 
And sacred kept within her gates. 
Against the foe's opposing force. 
The art and culture of her prime. 
Escutcheoned armor dark with time, 

37 



Inlined a boar or prancing horse. 

Another gift of kindred fates, 

A lamp instudded round in rows. 

With gems that long have stood the brunts 

Of kings ancestral lines and flits. 

A spear that once a chieftain brave 

Had winged against his enemy : 

A shield that bore the scars of use 

And turned the shaft of death to earth : 

Papyrus writ at time unknown, 

A treasured relic of the past. 

Encased, from hands, a sculptured cast 

Of some fair maiden, hewn from stone ; 

And emblematic of past mirth, 

A dancer's timbrel hangs in truce : 

And hung the walls in tapestry 

That once had graced a cloister's nave. 



38 



IF WE ONLY KNEW. 



TF we only knew. 

The future as an open book. 
The snares of life — its pits — 
To the bottom could we but look — 
Beyond the mists — what lies ? 
If we only knew. 

If we only knew. 

At daybreak, of impending doom. 

Of cares unbid, their strife 

And the shadows that cast a gloom. 

Our faith in all would fail ; 

If we only knew. 

If we only knew. 

When labor and our work was o'er 

That we would climb the heights 

Of the mountains or above them soar- 

Our songs to swell the choir ; 

If we only knew. 

39 



HARVEST. 

J* 1840 ^iC 



R 



EAPERS sweeping, 
Faster creeping. 
Cut the golden grain : 
Sweet its nidor fills the air. 
Blessing nature unaware. 

See ! the happy swain. 
Robust flinging, 
Sythe-blades swinging. 

Rakers piling, 
Mounds beguiling. 
Follow in their trail ; 
Merry jesting, spinning yarns 
'Bout the fish in yonder tarns; 
Or the speckled quail. 
After chasing. 
Lost in placing. 



40 



Birds arc mating, 
Vows arc stating, 
In the orchard by. 
liist, their ha}-)py ringing note 
As they past you wafted lloat 
Upward to the sky, 
Disajipearing, 
Lost in veering. 

Haulers crawling. 
Teamsters bawling 
To the la'/.y team. 
Ever onward going they. 
Working, toiling all the day. 
Till the twilight's gleam 
Bids them hauling 
Cease, till morning. 



41 



Home-ward going. 
Cows are lowing 
In the pasture field, 
Wistful looking at the hay. 
Till it, sweet, before them lay. 
Happy in the yield. 
Lays in-toning. 
Bees are droning. 



42 



THE JESTER'S TOAST, 



TTERE'S to the health of the porcupine. 

Gurgle and swizzle the sparkling wine 
Beds of ease amid sweet eglantine. 
Underneath ambrosia's juicy vine, 
'Wait for thee when drunk with love divine. 
Mansions of dreams, tinted carnadine. 
Fill every cup of the foaming stein. 
Once to the health of the friends of thine. 
Once to the health of the friends of mine — 
Drink and be merry ! for this we dine. 



43 



MAIDENHOOD. 



T IKE the bloom of a regal flower. 

Peeping forth from its leafy bower. 
Buds and bursts to a full blown rose. 
So the child to a maiden grows ; 
Beauty, grace, are her potent power — 
Crowned by wit, 'tis an envied dower. 



44 



AMBITION. 

^ Etude de Lyon Verse ^ 



^ I ^READ he must upon frail rounds. 

On, up, winding, ever high'r. 
Now oft clinging, hearing sounds 
Faint below : till lost — entire. 



45 



THE POET OF THE SUBLIME, 

^ John Milton ^ 



T^ARE I tread thy lofty height. 
Shedding pure its holy light. 

Dare I lift my voice to sing. 
When I hear thy music's ring. 

List each cadence, high or low. 
Throbbing rife with Nature's glow. 

Noble, full, its upward climb. 
Grand, enchanting and sublime. 



46 



TILLERS OF THE SOIL. 



TTONEST tillers of the soil. 

Thy life with gold is gilded : 
Birds and trees commune with thee. 
Not liars, thieves and rascals ; 
Till thy farm, tho' tired be, — 
Nature breathes her life for thee ; 
Drink the draught until it thralls 
Thy soul to sweet tranquility ; 
When to nature thou art wed 
Lighter grows thy burd'some toil. 



47 



THE SOWER. 



T?URROWS plowing. 

Earth endowing. 
Rich with golden grain. 

Sunlight streaming. 
Blackbirds screaming. 
Follow in his wake. 

Nearer coming 
Hear him humming. 
Soft, a joyous strain. 

Then a-veering. 
Lost to hearing. 
In the vast opake. 



48 



THE BRIDE OF THE SEA. 



* I ^HE lights of the city glimmer in the far. 

The moon its lucid pathway casts 
Upon the calm and peaceful sea. 
Sweet music floats from shores alea. 
And vessels, with their gay trimmed masts. 
Glide over the water, skimmer as a star. 

The strength of the tide, re-ceding from the bay. 

Out carries merry couples, swift. 

And half heard jests and snatches heard 

Of songs — a kiss — the maid demurred. 

Yet lets — permits, the youth's sweet gift. 

They pass from our hearing, drifting in the gray. 

The night from its darkness bursts and in the East, 

The morn, its ochered dawn, peeps forth 

And with it comes the tide's return. 

The harbor lights have ceased to burn 

And light of day now sheds its worth. 

The tide from the sea returning gave its feast. 



49 



It brings on its heaving bosom, in the light. 

Its bride of but the night before 

And firm it holds her to its breast. 

Lest others would its sweet caress ; 

Its prize it bears from sea to shore 

There heaps on her kisses, frenzied with delight. 



50 



IDOLS, 

OR 

HERO WORSHIP. 

T)UT, not thy trust in mortal flesh. 

It topples, — falls — when seen at best 
Tho' strong its pedestal may seem. 
There comes a time— a flash, — a gleam — 
It shows to you the broken rest. 
Which crumbles then — to dust a-thresh. 



SI 



PARTED. 



OHE lies beside the ivied church , 

Up on the hill ; 
Where mornings, birds their matins trill, 

From silv'rv birch : 
Where evenings, when with darkness cloaked, 

The stars evoked. 
And plaintive vespers swelled, to fill. 

From chancel rail. 
The church-yard, weird and pale. 

She lies entombed in earthly clay. 

With others — dead ; 
Yet living in a heart, by grieving bled. 

She is to-day. 
The tolling church-bells tolling, now. 

Means sorrowed brow : 
Where Love does darkened pathways tread ; 

Alone to leave. 
To memory, its bitter grief. 



52 



DAVID'S I'MilAISE. 

^ Psalm cvii — 8 ^ 

^ I ^HY hand, O Lord, is upon me. 

Jt makcth mc hold : 
As a lion gocth forth to feed its cubs ; 
As an eagle soareth the sky, and fcareth not 
So I walk with upright head. 
My heart is full ; I sing thy songs : 
1 maketh harmonies, in tune to thy praise, 
With harp and instruments of string. 
Sweet incense ot love J burn to thee 
Almighty, Just, the (jod of gods — Jehovah, 
Mighty and great is thy name, O Cod ! 
Let children of men fall before thee : 
Let sack-cloth be their garments 

And let them cease not praising thy name forever. 
Thy love, O God, exceedeth understanding ! 
It maketh the heart, of the sorrowful, glad. 
Praise thee, O Lord, forever ! 



53 



As the rain, when it falleth on parched ground. 

Is drunk with eager Hps, 

So thy Spirit is received by thy people. 

Let angels, in legion, sing thy praise ; 

Let the stars protrude through darkness ; 

Let the sun paint thy glory in the skies ! 

As the flowers attest their homage. 

And breathe their perfume, as incense, to thee. 

Let men, creatures of dust, bow before thee. 

And sing of thy goodness and love. 

The wind moaneth and weepeth not. 

The sea dashes its fury against the rocks, — 

Its anger a froth — they moveth not. 

So let thy servant be staid 

Amid the warfare of life. Selah. 



54 



AUTUMN'S GIFT. 



'VTATURE with her artist-brush 

Tints the leaves a ruddy blush- 
Golden edged with flaming red. 
Brown with red or gold instead. 
Yellow — centered green, they fall ; 
Unalike they one and all. 



55 



MODERN ART, 

OR ART FOR ART'S SAKE. 

^ A Satire ^ 

Or^HEY brazen forth for vulgar show. 

They paint without — the base and low 
A harlot's form, her very grace. 
And inspiration's gift eface. 
Their brush is dipt in flaring scobs 
Which but destroys — its beauty robs — 
Why paint a form with soulless eyes 
When they alone would draw a prize ? 
Unhasp thy fettered wings and soar 
O Angelo ! of ancient yore, 
And breathing o'er, not lust but love 
That leads the mind to look above. 
Would artists paint the semi-nude. 
With deft like hand omit the rude. 
But catch a glimpse — when she unseen — 
How chaste and pure ! enarmoured glean — 
And Love's undying mistress sits a queen. 



56 



A ROSARY. 



PRELUDIUM. 



'' I ^HE candles gleaming, brightly shed 

Topazic light ; a halo o'er His head 
And incense burning, sweet with spicy scent. 
Perfumed the air ; and subtile lent. 
Its fragrance to the sacred hour. 
As did the rarest Easter flow'r. 

PRIMA. 

With feelings deep her breast was stirred. 
Her sins, with prominence, her virtue blurred. 
O God ! how would or could He her reprieve. 

Yet she had faith to it believe ; 

With contrite heart and flowing tears. 

She kneels to Him, who, loving, cheers. 



57 



SECUNDA. 

Her azure eyes shy glances stole. 
And smiling did a youthful heart cajole ; 
The lesson read, the chanting, all unheard. 

The anthem sung, no thought inferred : 

Intent, enrapt in all she saw. 

The service failed her mind to draw. 

TERTIA. 

Devout she sat, in hazy mist. 
Half hearing what the preacher said, ] wist ; 
The thought of those she loved, now past and gone ; 
She saw them rise, by angels drawn. 
And He enthroned on High, above. 
Receive them all, with equal love. 



S8 



INTKRLUDIUM. 

Glory, Glory, to the Father, God ; 

Allelulia, Allelulia : 
To the Son, Glory and Praise 

Allelulia, Allelulia : 
Glory and Praise, to the Lord, forever : 

Mirahile dictu. 
The Holy Ghost, Glory, Amen ; 

Mirabilc dictu. 
Forever and ever Amen ; 
Glory, Allelulia, Glory 

Forever, 
Glory, Allelulia, Amen. 

2UATRA. 

She gazed about unconscious where ; 
Her ruddy face was stoic, free from care : 
Her beads were hanging listly fr(;m her hand, 

A daughter of the poorer band ; 

And wond'ring why the others tears? 

While she, her conscience, has no fears. 



59 



QUINTA. 

Intent, her soul with rapture fills 
With words of cheer, that peace and love instills. 
Each word, each thought, divine, to Heaven led ; 

The music, sweet, her longings fed. 

Her heart was full, she saw the far. 

Its pearly gates, for her, ajar. 

SEXTUS. 

With hoary grace he knelt and prayed ; 
His faith and hope in Christ were firmly laid ; 
Each bead, his lips in holy prayer moved. 

As well, for sin it now behooved : 

He blind to doubters' rudeful stare — 

He sees Madona, saintly fair. 

POSTLUDIUM. 

The organ pealed forth, its tune 
Of sweetness, while the chorus sang its lay ; 
Higher, louder, now majestic is its sway. 
Softer, sweeter, floating thro' the air. 
Running, chasing — fairies from their lair ; 
Mighty, swelling, climbing to the height, 
Crashing, dashing, ending with delight. 

60 



A STORM AT SEA. 



^ I ^HE sky was somber and lowering. 

The day far spent. 
And the sea o'er the deck was flowing ; 

The mizzen sail rent — 
And the gallant ship had sprung a leak in the hold : 
The wind was blowing a terrific gale. 
Gaining in force as o'er the open sea it bowled. 
And the hearts of the bravest men did quail. 
As peal after peal of the distant thunder rolled. 
And the lightning lit the sky with its lurid flame. 
The ship — now on the crest of a mountainous wave. 
Half out — then down — down the watery course she 

came. 
Half submerged, trembling — she rose for another to 

brave. 
The sturdy seamen, tho' faint at heart. 

Loud laughed and joked — 
As they told of the mermaids' art — 

How **Davy" was stoked — 

6i 



And then ** What a royal spread we'll make for 

the fish?" 
But as the water in the hold increased — 
Faster — they spake not of the mermaids' witching 

wish, 
No, nor of the fishes' awaiting feast, 
But rather they thought of the dear loved ones 

at home. 
And with this thought in their minds, renewed 

energy 
They put into their work, and ere dawning of 

day. 
When the fierce winds and the angry sea lost 

their sway. 
The staunch ship, proud, on licr journey, safe 

speeded away. 



62 



THK COOUl/riK AND THE 
YOU ill. 



As tlic cicw-tlrop loves to linger on the petals 
or a pink. 
Till the sun's outluirsting splendor takes its sparkle 

to itself. 
So the youthiiil lover lingers at the gateway of his 

love. 
Till the merry stars, their twinkle fills the heavens 
all above. 

How the creaking of the hinges tohl the neighbors 

of a call 
(And the nunilier of the callers would a modest 

maiden pall) 
And her merry ringing laughter at the cjucstion of 

the youth : 
** WouKl she ever, could she ever be his heljMiiatc — 

be his wife ? " 



63 



But the answer to his question was evaded by a 

jest. 
Yet he loved her all the better and attentive 

lingered near. 
Was he jealous of a rival ! she would calm him 

with a kiss ; 
Then forgotten was his doubting ; — she his darling, 

she his miss. 



6+ 



THE REFORMER. 



\ RISE! desires of perfected state. 

Tumultuous swell with justful hate 
My breast, (too oft in peaceful rest) 
Against the evils that infest 
My brothers, sisters, children— all. 
Accursed let the mighty fall 
And crumbled lie beneath the dust. 
If they forsake their honest trust. 
Must we stand with shackled feet- 
Pinioned arms and see defeat ? 
Rather by the sword and blood. 
Than sink beneath this awful flood. 
We perish ; equal rights — the gain 
To share — intact the rest remain. 
We dare appeal to honesty — 
The heart of magnaminity — 
Support and help down trodden man, 
Romove the cause and burst the ban. 



65 



A TRAVELER'S VISION 

Jit Washington Irving ^ 



O 



VER the sea. 

To the hind beyond ; 
America, my country — free. 



Home of my youth 
And of inurncd sires ; 
America, — 1 love in truth. 

Pride of a heart 
That is h^yal — true ; 
America, to thee my art. 

There to the end. 
Of a life in trust ; 
America — receive a friend. 



66 



LA LUNA. 



A 



Sir.VI'R disk ainidsi tl.c clouds 
Now out sliininj', now in shrouds. 



i'",niliroiicd she jdidcs witli regal j^racc 
V/hilc I he stars each fain their phice. 

The Oueeu of lif;ve -etiarnoured they- 
Af'tcr trailing leave the (hiy. 



67 



EQUALITY. 



TTNEQUAL is the race, 

Yet such the Will, till they apace. 
By dint of education, gain the goal. 
Time may go, its surges roll ; 
Each must work their destiny 
And Wisdom's will their potent power be 
Till then remain they as they are — 
The goal from them afar. 



68 



THE HUNT. 



* I ^HE bugle sounds from o'er the lea. 

The hounds are barking — mad with glee 
Nearer, nearer. 
Thro' the coppice crashing come : 

Louder, louder — 
Sounds the eager huntsman's hum. 

The horses nearing now a rail 

With graceful ease, the scantling scale ; 

Faster, faster, — 
Reynard gains and leaves the field. 

To the woodland : 
Fate apparent — doom is sealed. 

Now plunging thro' the mucky bog. 
Then leaping o'er the mossy log ; 

Eager after. 
Follow hounds that lead the chase. 

Gaining slowly — 
Nearer — now within a pace. 

69 



The fox's strength begins to go ; 
He turns — and facing meets his foe : 

Closer, closer. 
Fear — a dash and all is o'er — 

Mad with frenzy — 
Reynard, limb from limb is torn. 



70 



LO, AM I. 



TJENEATH the earth, the sea, the sky— 
"^ Where e'er thou look, above or high. 
Within, without, and always nigh— 
Lo, am I. 

Unuttered tho' thine anguished cry — 
Lo, am I. 

The grass you pass a-going by. 
The autumn leaves that falling lie ; 
Forsaken left alone to die — 
Lo, am I. 



71 



ni^:k()'s commands. 

Jit The llurn'mg of Ronu- ^li 

TTIGHER! Higher! 
Buikl tlic pyre. 

Quenchless fire, 

'Curst behold ! 

Princes' gold 
Shall rise in smoke away. 
Their homes in ashes lay." 

" Higher ! Higher ! 

Hear, 1 say ! 

Ere the day. 

1 do rule 

Thou my tool. 
To touch the blazing torch — 
And thev to feel its scorch." 



72 



** Leap ye ! licap yc ! 
Crackle flames — 
Thro' the frames. 
I will build. 
Friezes guild — 
The envy of tiie world — 
Ye ashes, smoke encurled." 



73 



THE TWO LOVERS. 



T3ATTER, patter. 

On the roof. 
Clatter, clatter. 

Horses' hoof. 
Matter, matter. 

All enough ; 
Hatter, Hatter 

Sniffs his snuff. 
Hannah, Hannah ; 

All a-fluff; 
Ana, Ana ; 

Sleeves a-puff; 
Dana, Dana ; 

Stern and gruff 



74 



** Undeceive me. 
For you grieve me ; 
Laughing, fooling. 
Loved unruling : 
Thou and Ana, 
Stately Hannah, 
Fix this matter 
With old Hatter — 

Bid him go ! " 
Clatter, clatter. 

Let him know. 
Patter, patter. 

Thou and he 
Chatter, chatter. 

One will be. 



75 



PERDU. 



T^IRT and mire 

Filth and scum- 
None admire — 
All are dumb — 
Yet they sire. 
Nature's fairest. 
Flowers rarest. 

From the mere. 
Waxen leaved. 
Lilies pere. 
Golden sheaved — 
Left to sere 
Where the grasses 
Sing their masses. 



76 



so CALLED REALISTS VS. POETS. 

^ A Satire S 



T 



^HEY flout the poet's sylvan lays 

And call him daft — unfit for modern ways. 

Yet tear him from the weary heart 
And buoyant Hope from all would soon depart. 

His sympathetic hand, the clouds 
Dispells or shows beyond their somber shrouds, 

A vision fair and beauteous. 

Untrue, unreal to life they say — 
(Untutored, blind they see no sunny day ; 

No soul inspiring — men are brutes. 
And made to live and die as dusky Utes. 

No Golden temple lies within 
Where peace and quiet reigns above the din. 

Instead a dark and gloomy cell. ) 



n 



A poem dipt in flame sublime. 
Its heights in scaling — call a senseless rhyme ; 

Would do for women or a few. 
But they — they want but journalistic brue. 

Their skies are dark o'er streaked with red,- 
The breasts they suck protrude, by vitrol fed 

Which burns away or sears their soul. 



AN INCA QUEEN. 

^ On the unearthing of a mummy of an Inca Queen ^ 



^ I ^HOU, Queen of once a haughty race. 
Thy smile is now a weird grimace ; 
Thy hair which hung in glossy fold 
Was interwoven rich with gold ; 
While now disheveled, wild and dull, 
'Tis hanging wanton from thy skull : 
Once lovers true thy fair hand sought. 
For thee and honor bravely fought ; — 
Alas ! for now with thee are they. 
Thy friends and foes, alike are clay. 



79 



A GLIMPSE OF EDEN. 



GRAPE-VINES swinging. 

Clusters clinging. 
Purple are with wine. 

Golden apples. 
Red in dapples. 
Tempt the palate's glee. 

Bird-notes ringing. 
Praises winging. 
Fill the garden's shrine. 

Fair a river, 
God its giver. 
Winds upon the lea. 

Now dividing. 
Four are gliding. 
Each a regal stream. 



80 



Chaliced bowers, 
Hued with flowers, 
Deep are hid with trees. 

Bees out plucking. 
Stamens sucking. 
Gather honey's cream. 

Ardor wafted. 
Love ingrafted. 
Breathes the balmy breeze. 

Nought disturbing. 
Love uncurbing, 
Adam there and Eve. 



8i 



IS HONOR DEAD? 



TTUMANITY! Humanity! 

Thy fate hangs in the scale : 
Thy cheeks are blanchen — pale — 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Where is thy guiding star ? 
It gleams, unseen, afar ; 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Thy plumed wings are frail 
And soaring sink to trail ; 
Humanity, humanity. 



82 



Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Weep, wail and cry for peace. 
Let not thy pleading cease ; 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Thy luxuries are dross 
And counteth to thee loss ; 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Thy sires' ashes mold. 
Thy love has waxen cold ; 
Humanity, humanity. 



83 



Humanity ! Humanity ! 
To action and to self; 
Away with cankered pelf? 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Thy songs belie their name, 
A dirge would fit thy shame ; 
Humanity, humanity. 

Humanity ! Humanity ! 
Forget *tis night and wake ; 
For Honor is at stake : 
Humanity, humanity. 



84 



EMERSON IN THE WOODS. 



'^TATURE, Nature, ev'ry where— 

God Eternal breathes the air. 
Mountains raise their hoary heads. 
Flowers blooming in their beds — 
All thro' All and He thro' All- 
Song-birds, sweet, obey His call. 
Red and green autumnal leaves. 
Garnered trophies, golden sheaves ; 
Silvered fishes in the pool. 
Darting in and out the cool : 
Moss that, lace-like, hangs on trees ; 
Bells that bloom on sheltered leas ; 
Cones that fall from spicy pines ; 
Ruddy berries on frail vines ; 
Sunset with its vari-hues ; 
All attest and pay their dues. 
Nature, Nature ev'ry where 
God Eternal breathes the fair. 



85 



THE HAUNTED CHURCH. 



/'CHILDREN passed with dreaded fear. 
Older people said 'twas queer. 

Since the death of Deacon Brown, 
Loved by all within the town. 

Wails and screeches could be heard, 
(Vouched by trusted person's word.) 

How at night when passing by 
They were startled by a cry. 

And for years it now had stood. 
Reft of chancel rail and rood. 

Rocks demolished window panes ; 
Wind and rain the room profanes. 

Midnight trav'lers quaked with fear. 
When they passed the church-yard near. 



86 



Youth and sweetheart, walking nigh. 
Speak not love but heave a sigh. 

There the bats, in somber glee. 
Pass within, from out the free. 

Spiders hang their byssine nets, — 
Glow-worms act as candle jets. 

Swallows, on the rafters tall. 

Build their mud nests, free from all. 

Beetles chirp the vesper song ; 
Frogs join in and help along. 

When one night, when all was still. 
Rang the bell, it sent a chill. 

People talked and gossips said : 

** Deacon Brown was six years dead." 

**On that very day he passed 
To where Saints are all amassed." 



87 



Some one said, '* Investigate — 

Who would dare and chance their fate ? ' * 

Some it favored, others, ** No," 
They refused to trust and go. 

Six in all made ready soon ; 
Ere the rising of the moon. 

Armed w^ith candles, guns and spear. 
Ropes and ladders — Harken ! Hear ! 

Screeches filled the vaulted room. 
Fancied thought did form assume. 

Candles lit were soon out put. 
Some one stumbled, hit his foot. 

Lit again, with beating heart. 

Thro' the church they onward start. 

Up the belfry stairway, they. 
Creaking now with Time's decay. 



Screech ! an owl, from towered perch. 
Echoes woke within the church. 

In the moonlight — wings outspread — 
They had thought it walking dead. 

And what caused that startHng peal. 
They that went in public weal, — 

Found a rotted beam that fell — 
Struck and rung that silent bell. 



SHAKESPEARE. 

** O now, forever 

Farewell the tranquil mind." 

(Othello.) 

1% yriGHTY man of genius rare. 

Well knowing all the ills and good 
That Nature's kin are heir. 

Love's or Melancholy's mood 
Portray thou in a master hand. 
Which critic's eye withstood. 

Pleasures sweet and sorrow's pangs 
Created thou from England's land. 
Amid the warsome clangs. 

Fancies flitted thro' thy brain. 

And well thou knew and understood. 

The fairies' hid domain. 



90 



Passions swelling thro' the breast. 
Thou culminate with wit and care. 
And crown with merry zest. 

Rising oft in tragic might : 
Our mind in wonder sways. 
Thou giver of delight. 



91 



SCIENCE. 

^ A Satire ^ 



REAT men of science, named as such ; 
(Inflated minds of learning mach) — 
Yet with audacity they claim, 

Superior, their knowledge than the One, 

Who made the earth, the sea and skies : 
They doubt the Godhead's simple truth 
And rear with diction doting whys : 

Their own egregious suppositions tell. 

And ask us faith and credence give 
Some absonant and startling tale ; 
They tell us how in complex strain, 

* In the vast backward and abysm of time ; * 
The earth and moon together one 
Conglomerate and viscous mass. 
Rotating swift in empty space. 

Together with, and aggravated by 



92 



The solar tides, which swaying thro'. 
Dividing made the moon and earth : 
(They claim the earth from chaos came. 

But whence came chaos ne'er can they explain.) 
E'en man they try to catenate ; 
His form and value underrate. 
And credit give to shiftless chance ; 

From tadpoles wriggling in the sHmy pool. 
From larvse of Ascidians too : 
Thro' apes and monkeys — camest thou, — 
So loud declaim these learned few. 

How myriads of years, now past remote. 

With snail like gait we came the way. 

Anon to man perfected grew. 

While tracing deep our earthly tomb : — 

Yet lack they still the needed abreuvoir 
Completing long their fragile chain, 
(Or monumental massive frame. 
Ambiguous in language claimed.) 



93 



IN LOVE'S DOMAIN, 

OR 

THE POET'S WOOING. 

OOFT gliding o'er the glassy pool. 

They linger 'neath the willow's cool 
How drinks he to his pleasure's full — 
Angelic, sweet and fair her face — 
To earth again ; another pull. 
They disappear and leave no trace. 

The by-path, long forsaken now. 

Save by some youth or straying cow. 

They stroll in silent extacy. 

O'er brimmed with love's eternity. 

Where babbhng brooks forth songs evoke. 

And lazy frogs awake and croak, 

A fallen tree — they rest — and shy 
He slips his arm about — but why 
Intrude ! — the happy scene profane ! 
How long the monarch there had lain ! 
Its bosom nurtured many dream. 
Betraying not by word or gleam. 



94 



They wander by the mossy brook. 
Coquetting, it their picture took — 
A slender maid with golden hair. 
And laughing eyes, all debonair ; 
A youth, Adonis like in grace — 
But ripples come and both eface. 



95 



THE THREE ANGELS. 

.>{ A Birth ^ 



H 



ER angel hovers, that the pain to bear 
Be softened by a holy, lovmg care. 



His angel watches o'er, with spreading wings. 
Proclaiming joy in music's gladest strains. 

Its angel guards and laurel brings ~ 

To crown the sweetest name that earth contains. 



96 



UNIMPASSIONED SERVICE. 



/^^ LICK— click— click— 

^^ The myriad of voices sound. 
Tales of woes, of hopes and fears. 
Uncanny tales that all astound. 
Crimes of youth, of ageing years. 
Draws no sympathizing tears ; 
Be the message that of love 

Tick — tick — tick — 
The murmur harshly sounds above ; 
A fortune lost, a duel fought, 
A belle of former years insane. 
It hears — but hearing all unsought — 
Expresses naught but calm disdain ; 
The battle fray, its slaughtered— slain— 

Click— click— chck— 
With merry zest and wanton mirth 
It tells the tale of famish — dearth. 



97 



A BACHELOR'S CONTENT. 



T? MPURPLED curtains arabesque ; 

Antique a carved writing desk : 
Reclining, sweet with comfort brought, 
He sits content in dreamy ease ; 
Fantastic grows his mind unsought 
With visions best that loving please. 

Soft hazy grows the air and why? 
As circles up the circles high : 
Ethereal his fancies are — 
Deep azure eyes and golden hair 
Are floating past him in the far. 
Alluring him to Beauty's lair. 



He smells the subtle perfume sweet. 
Of times when he was indiscreet ; 
How thought he then his passions true, 
H^is love undying, she his queen : 
Yet time with love and feeling flew. 
Alone remaining mem'ry's sheen. 

Another floats in fancy by. 
And tender grows his loving eye ; 
Tho' wrinkled now her saintly face 
And streaked with gray her chestnut hair- 
He gazes long, its features trace. 
As circles high it in the air. 



99 



THE JOURNEY'S END, 



TT /"HEN on the shore of hallowed time. 

When locks are gray and tinged with rimCj 
We look back o'er our trodden path. 
Where lies our follies — there a scath. 
If but we could the scars eface ! 
If but we could perfection trace ! 
Alas ! we knew nor thought in youth 
That age would carve unwelcome truth. 
Our bacchic pleasures tasted sweet ; 
We did our will — were indiscreet. 
But now ere life has closed its day. 
And feeble steps attend our way. 
We see that when the sun was bright 
'Twas dark and somber, — day was night ; 
And sorrow was refining fire 
To fill us with a soul's desire. 



ODE TO YO SEMITE. 



-^ ^ Yo Semite, 
Sublime and grand :■ — 
Thy rising rocky cliffs. 
Thy deepen sunken rifts. 
Thy verdured hills ; 
Thy rippling rills ; 
My praise command — 
Yet awes my praises still. 
Thy mystic "Bridal Veil," 
The rarest gem 

Of thy bejewelled crown. 

With filmy splashing spray. 

Its iridescent hue 

Of rainbows showing thro'. 

As speeds it on its way. 

*<E1 Capitan" whose massive walls 

The gazer's mind appalls : 



Thy rushing, crashing water-falls. 
Thy rich beflowered mountain trail 
My soul with longings fill. 

Hail! 

*' South Dome,'* the throne 

Of once fair Tissaack, 

The Valley's Goddess great ; 

Whose feathered wings 

Have left behind their trace. 

For springing from the dale 

Below, — thou honored dome. 

White violets of purest grace. 

Beside the meadow's mere. 

Attest her presence dear : — 

How once Tutockanula, Chief, 

To 'scape his melancholy grief 

From ** Capitan " to South Dome track, 

Bedecked as for some gaysome fete. 

With painted face and golden rings 

From peak to peak and trail 

He onward hies, — 

Away she flies — 



In vain his love was wasted. 

Its sweetness never tasted. 

Thy ribboned name sake fall. 

The highest of them all ; 

With just affinity 

Lays claim to trinity : 

Thy "Glacier Point," — the view 

From overhanging rock — 

More wonderful and new : 

Thy mirrored lake. 

Reflecting tall and great 

The valleys beaks in state ; — 

The massive walls, the trees 

Their primal tint partake. 

Fair Illilouette, 

Thy shooting stream. 

At noon a seething jet — 

Prismatic in its gleam : 

Nevada rushing forth 

In regal splendor falls 

And crashes deep below. 

Then running swiftly onward cool. 

In cataract of diamonds flash, 

103 



Then still and deep in ** Em 'raid Pool 

It gathers fresh for final crash — 

When off and o'er again 

Now ** Vernal" is its name. 

And laughing white. 

Below it whirls 

'Mid '*Happy Isles"; 

Soft singing yet the whiles 

With pure delight 

As thro' the meadows green it curls. 

Hail ! 

Again, thrice hail ! 

Yo Semite : — 

Thy praises ring 

From vale 

To trail ; 

Thy waters sing 

As ripple they 

In joyful play ; 

Thy flowers sweet 

Doth strangers greet 

And ** Welcome" say. 

104 



Alas ! due justice not 
I give to thee — 
I fail — am lost'— 
In passions tossed. 



105 



A MODERN BELLE. 



TJELINDA with a jaunty grace. 
Smiling eyes and saucy face ; 

Coquetting with a native born — 

Lightly trips the terraced lawn. 

Elusive lest he think her tame 

OfF she goes as coming came — 

His rival, meeting, stops to talk 
He alone, obliged to walk. 

Else stand till she unwind her string- 
Scandal, gossip, — both 'twill bring. 

Unlucky he or lucky say 

He who stays — who stays away. 



1 06 



THE HERMIT. 



T HAVE no friends— 

I want no friends — 
Save nature in its myriad of countless forms ; 
A butter-cup, or better yet, a spray of ferns- 
The butter-flies, — the garden worms — 
My love for them with fervor burns. 
I see in them a friend of truth — 
They love and answer not — 
They speak and murmur not — 
Away ! ye babbling rabble — away ! forsooth. 



107 



THE GLORY OF OUR FLAG. 



TXT'HEN flung to breezes, sunlight lit 

How swells the breast, with passions swift. 
In love and valor closely knit. 
Till lost the sense does drifting drift. 

Our sires' blood has stained the red 
Which gleams with glory of the past — 
We hear again the deeds of dead 
That slumber now where gloom is cast. 

The stripes of white, sweet purity. 

Are mothers' pray'rs for peace and good — 

For Freedom, — Love and Unity, 

For God and Country, both, they stood. 

The tears of loved ones glist as stars. 
Inset in heaven's azure moat. 
Which, tri-fold, crowns co-equal bars. 
That winds, unfurling, glories float. 



io8 



GOLD. 



/^OLD, Gold, 

The goal, from birth to death, behold ! 
It lures the youth, it lures a host ; 
They grasp its shimmering form, 
Alas to some — alas to most ; 
It fades, beyond the mad storm. 
Some unscathed have reached and held, 
(Avarice v^ith purpose weld) 
Elusive, past it you glide. 
Anew you try, anew you fail ; 
Old age has come to deride — 
Becalmed you have — a flapping sail 
You drift, awaiting winds — too late. 



109 



Gold, Gold, 

Its throne, a cradle does enfold 

Where some are lulled, in drowsy sleep 

And hear not murmuring want — 

The harvest theirs — which others reap. 

No wolf, a hungering — gaunt — 

Stands before their well latched door. 

Storms of life, their angry roar 

Sweeps by and over their head. 

From gemmate youth to manhood's height 

They feel nor hear haunting dread. 

Their songs are airy, gaysome, Hght — 

Their night is starry, roseate cast. 



lo 



DIANA'S HUNT. 



THE PREPARATION. 



TT^ORTH, from the stream, ye naiads, fair, 

Diana bids thee hasten pace ! 
Forth from the woodland's sylvan lair. 
Come dryads, too, to join the chase ! 
See ! on the mountain slopes are stags — 
Lost to the one that loiters — lags. 
Hark ! to the baying of the hounds. 
They leap with joy to hear the horn ; 
Eager for sport, each, woodward bounds 
To rout the deep sequestered fawn. 



Ill 



THE HUNT. 

Off, through the wood with dart and bow. 
Alert lest game escape away. 
On, through the vale they deeper go. 
Till, high, they climb the mountain way. 
Swift, through the air their arrows dart 
Straight to the mark, each, cleaves a heart. 
Loud, do the dogs, with barking stay 
The pathway leading to retreat ; 
Keeping, in fear, the doe at bay. 
Till piercing missies calm defeat. 

THE RETURN. 

Borne, by the breeze, announcing gain. 
To those that had from hunting staid. 
Songs of the victors swept the plain. 
Till they emerging filled the glade. 
Each from the hunt a trophy had. 
Over her shoulder, Hke a lad. 
Proudly they bore their anthers high ; 
As soldiers, when returning, come 
Straight from the field with triumph's cry. 
In martial step to beating drum. 



IN BONDAGE. 



T\ yTY heart doth yearn. 
My spirits burn : 
I would be free. 
Yet dare not flee — 
Before are walls 
I cannot scale ; 
Behind appalls — 
My cheek doth pale — 
Unfathomed depths. 
Where to descend 
Would be to end. 



113 



WAKING THE WILD FLOWERS. 



A URORA comes. 

And lambs proceed 
Attached to cords. 
Of pinken silk ; 
They frisk thro' grass. 
Thro' meadows green. 
Thro' valleys, dales. 
O'er hilly slopes. 
And bids them forth 
Their flowers ope : 
Small baby-eyes. 
Of sky blue hue, 
Forth petals shoot. 
To charm and lure ; 
And poppies rare. 
In orange dye. 
Awake and nod ; 



114 



While butter-cups. 
Of golden tint. 
With equal grace. 
Their faces show : 
And **jonnie-jumps " 
Tho' deeply hid. 
In grasses tall. 
Obey her call : 
The sweet wild rose. 
Of dainty pink, 
'Mid leaves of green. 
With pleasure smiles 
Upon the train : 
And lilies fair. 
Of snowy white. 
On tallen stems 
Of texture light ; 
Their beauty add, — 
The scene enhance : 



Shy daisies, small. 
Their utmost try. 
To catch a glimpse ; 
To see her smile : 
Empurpled bells. 
Of silken text. 
In ecstasy 

Peal forth their thanks 
The fruit trees, too. 
With blossoms sweet. 
The pathway scent. 
With perfume rare : 
And singing birds. 
With joyful songs. 
Announce the news — 
Aurora comes ; 
As flying they. 
From tree to tree. 
Are wont to go. 



ii6 



THE IDEAL. 



T\yTY fond ambition lies beyond, 

^^^ Entowered, high, above the clouds, 

I follow on— I grasp— 'tis gone ; 

Again I grasp — a mist enshrouds— 

Yet still 1 hope and follow on. 



17 



TO A SNUFF BOX. 

^ A Sonnet ^ 

T^ ECEPTACLE of that once fond delight 

Of dear ancestral sires and kith of blood ; 
Who oft were wont to bring thee forth in trite — 
A pinch — to sniff, — while tears would flush and flood 
The uninitiated — loud cachoos. 
One followed by another, till the last. 
It was, (in troth) a fond and loving ruse 
Oft played on children and the gentler cast. 
Thy sweet vignetted face, now dim with years. 
With puffed hair in odd and quaint design 
Recalls to memory, as mystic seers. 
That rare, exquisite, gracefulness benign. 
Enhancing maiden beauty of thy time. 
When nature tinted, pink, thy cheeks with clime. 



THE PASSING CENTURY, 



o 



UT on the iron crane of time. 

Swung by the smith with his mighty arm. 
Swings the century, hoary with rime, 
Moulden and shapen beneath its barm. 

Swift as it moves to its graven place, 
A shadow it cast on the pregnant earth: 
Darkly the dawn, of an age, we trace; 
Dumb at the thought of its awful birth. 



119 



WHERE SHADOWS FALL. 



TJENEATH the shade of spreading trees, 
In nook sequestered from the breeze. 
Where birds their songs of praises sing. 
As from the ground to branch they wing. 
And ripples of the streamlet near. 
Are heard with sweetness to the ear. 

The sunlight here — a shadow there : 
A dream of forms — then vanished — where? 
On trailing vines that cling to oak. 
Where nectar hangs 'neath purple cloak ; 
Where lilies rise with saintly grace 
And incense breathe — a lover's place. 

A long deserted trail or path. 
Now thick o'er grown — an aftermath — 
A space — a well — reflected joys — 
Here nature, nature's lover, cloys 
With buzz of bees as to and fro 
From buds and blossoms oft they go. 



I 20 



THE POETESS OF LOVE. 

^ Elizabeth Barrett Browning ^ 



/^ LOVE that love is — good and true 

That loving love is both and two ; 
And ranging sweet in sweetest strain 
Is ventured forth, but not in vain. 



LOVE'S POET. 

^ Robert Browning ^ 



TXT'E read thee once — our duty do. 

We read again with pleasures new 
Thy love is true to Nature's art — 
It pierces thro' — into the heart. 



122 



AT GATES OF SONG. 



T LINGER at the gates of song, 

I fain would stay and linger long. 

The melodies, sweet, fill the air ; 
The harmonies are rich and rare. 

Here winged songsters, swift in flight. 
With tragic lays, pierce thro' the night. 

Here love with sweetest jealousies 
With love unsullen best agrees. 

And dreams, of songs enchantment, lure 
Poetic thoughts from prose demure. 



Spero Meliora. 



23 



NOV S iB99 



